Safety razor blade sharpener



Jan. 10, 1956 MccUE 2,729,989

SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed June 1, 1954 --oooooooo/2 iiti jgygii:

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United States Patent SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER James H. McCue,Pasadena, Calif.

Application June 1, 1954, Serial No. 433,369

1 Claim. (Cl. 76-89.2)

My invention relates to an improved safety razor blade sharpener whichwhen applied in use is adapted by rubbing and polishing action to removerough and ragged edges from safety razor blades which have double orsingle cutting edges and while held in a safety razor blade holder orother support, thereby adapting the usual holder for a double purpose,one for holding the razor blade while the holder is being used forshaving and the other for holding the razor blade in a manner wherebyboth cutting edges of the blade can be sharpened by rubbing and/orpolish ing action.

It is well known that the cutting edges of new or old razor blades areusually rough or irregular, thus preventing keen cutting action andfrequently being painful for use, and l have found that by removingthese objections the cutting edges of the blades can be sharpened evenlyand thereby overcome past objections. I have also discovered that bywetting the cutting edges of the blades either with clear or soapy waterthat subsequent rubbing is rendered more effective by producing smootherand sharper cutting effect which overcomes objections.

With the above objects of removing roughness and other imperfectionsfrom safety razor blades and of improving and producing keen and sharpcutting effect my improvement comprises the features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, Fig. 1is a perspective view of an ordinary double safety razor blade holderwhen open; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1,when the razor blade holder is closed; Fig. 3 is a perspective viewshowing the lower member 21 of my improved polishing device applied inoperative position in the safety razor blade holder; Fig. 4 is a plan ofthe lower member of my im proved razor blade polisher; Fig. 5 is a planof the companion upper member of my improved razor blade polisher; Fig.6 is an inverted plan showing an applied position assumed by a razorblade C, on the safety razor blade polishing member D, shown in Figs. 5and 6; Fig. 7 is a side elevation partly in section showing thepolishing members 20 and 21 applied to a safety razor blade holder inposition to be reciprocated and thereby polish and sharpen a razor bladeby applying rubbing action between the members 20 and 21 upon thecutting edges of the safety razor blade C as also shown in Fig. 6; Fig.8 is an illustration when in use of the plates 20 and 21 shown in Figs.4 and 5.

The schematic view of Fig. 7 illustrates the manner in which thepolishing balls are applied to sharpen the cutting edges of the razorblade by hand longitudinal reciprocation of the plates. The view shownin Fig. 8 illustrates the manner in which the rubbing plates 20 and 21are applied in use. Fig. 9 also shows that the invention is equallyapplicable for sharpening double or single type cutting edges on razorblades.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a safety razor blade holder having theusual chassis A supported by the usual tubular handle 15 through which areciprocable shaft 13 slides 2,729,989 Patented Jan. 10, 1956longitudinally and is connected between the usual hand operated rotaryknob 14 on its outer end and the actuated pair of hinged shutters l2-12on its work end, with the longitudinal reciprocable dividing wall B onits head end, all of usual and well known construction. Thus by turningthe knob 14in one direction the shutters 12 are opened and thetransverse dividing wall or guide B is raised into the position shown inFig. 1, and by reversing the operation of the knob 14 the shutters 12-12and guide B are retracted uopn the head of the holder as shown in Figs.1 and 2, all in the usual manner.

It is usual to employ double razor blades C as shown in Fig. 7, whichare applied in or removed by hand from the holder so that the user canquickly sharpen the razor blade by strapping. This has been commonpractice for many years, and has been instrumental in developing andproducing safety razors with double cutting edges. This development hasresulted in the production of razors having cutting blades whichfrequently have cutting edges which are rough and imperfect, thusresulting in the user having to discard the blades soon after attemptingto use them. Among the objects of my improvements therefore is toovercome past objections and provide improvements which can be easilyused.

To these ends a holder for the blades to be sharpened one at a time andcomprising a pair of superimposed fiat plates 20 and 21 are provided,the plate 20 having upturned end shoulders 24 between which the plate 21can be slidably lodged. These plates have corresponding longitudinalslots 22 and 23 which slidingly admit the dividing wall B on the holder.These slots are enlarged between their ends at 30 so as to freely admitthe upper end portions 31 of shaft 13 so that the plates 20 and 21 mayfreely reciprocate longitudinally. The adjacent surfaces of thereciprocable plates 20 and 21 have longitudinal pairs of rows ofengaging rubbing balls 25 and 26 which are rigidly seated and set in theadjacent inner side surfaces between the plates 20 and 21 whileprojecting inwardly. The inner plate 21 is shorter than the outer plate20 as shown so that plate 21 may reciprocate back and forth a shortdistance which permits the rows of balls to engage and polish thecutting edges 27 and 28 of the razor blade C. Thus when the twocooperating plates 20 and 21 are loaded with a safety razor bladetherebetween, such as indicated in Fig. 7 and the plates 20 and 21 areassembled together and placed in the holder and reciprocatedlongitudinally, both sides of the cutting edges 27 and 28 of the razorblade are sharpened.

The balls 25 and 26 are composed of carbon steel or case hardened metal,suitable to successfully resist wear, and the operating plates 20 and 21when assembled with a cutting blade held with its cutting edges betweenthe pairs of rows of balls while slight hand pressure is applied to thesides of the plates sharpens the cutting edges 27 and 28.

The schematic view shown in Fig. 7, illustrates the manner in which thepolishing balls are applied in use to polish sharpen the double cuttingedges of the razor blades by longitudinal reciprocation of the plates.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principlesof operation of my improvement, but I desire to have it understood thatthe construction shown is only illustrative and that the invention canbe carried into practice by other means and applied to uses other thanthose above set forth.

I claim:

A safety razor blade cutting edge sharpener which when in use employsfor a support a conventional safety razor having the usual tubularhandle, pairs of hinged shutters and a vertically reciprocating dividingwall between the shutters, said sharpener comprising upper and lowerrectangular plates, each of said plates having longitudinally V 3" andcentrally disposed slots therein which are enlarged between their endsfor mounting upon the dividing wall of the razor with a razor bladetherebetween, said plates each having a plurality of. metal rubbing!balls embedded therein in a. line near the longitudinal edges of eachplate, the halls of each plate facing corresponding ballsoi the otherplate, so that, with plates. andintermediate blade mounted on therazorandover the. dividing wall thereof, the blade edges are sharpened byhand longitudinal reciprocation "of the plateswith. the dividing wallserving as a guide for the plates during reciprocation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS WatsonMay 18, 1920 McGall Sept. 21, 1920 Spencer May 16, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTSGreat Britain Jan. 17, 1951

